Japan will spend more than $2 billion to buy and install U.S. Tomahawk missiles on its naval destroyers in an effort to stop China and North Korea from getting too close.
For the fiscal year beginning in April, the cabinet approved a record defense budget of $51.4 billion, which includes these expenditures. After nearly halving its military budget in the wake of World War II, Japan last week signaled one of its largest military buildups since the war.
Japan’s latest budget allocates approximately $10.6 billion for the development of missiles capable of targeting military sites in enemy countries if an assault appears imminent. This shift in strategy is meant to deter neighboring countries from launching offensives.
The budget allocates $1.6 billion for the purchase of Tomahawk missiles and an additional $832 million for technical development and training to enable the Japanese Navy’s Aegis destroyers to fire them. The Defense Ministry anticipates that missile deployment will begin in spring 2026.
